


the mug

by nigiyakapepper



Category: Cardfight!! Vanguard
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-25
Updated: 2014-04-29
Packaged: 2018-01-20 18:05:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1520198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nigiyakapepper/pseuds/nigiyakapepper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How Miwa came to have his own mug in Kai's home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 久しぶり

**Author's Note:**

> sorry folks, i've been writer's blocked for "blue skies". even this fic is terribly difficult for me to churn out, but the idea won't leave me alone ; w; i hope you still enjoy it! O/ i loff you all
> 
> also i am a nerd who was only recently convinced toshiki is kai's first name and not kai... same for miwa, ugh. im sorry, IM SORRY _(:c JL)_

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 久しぶり: "It's been a while."

He returns to Hitsue High on the first of April, amidst a picturesque flurry of falling sakura. Miwa remembers the day very clearly. He’d been ridiculously sleepy all morning, but when he sees Kai Toshiki in the throng of students, a zing of energy fires through Miwa’s body, filling his lungs with pleasant surprise, spurring his legs to catch up to the man.

A smile tugs at Miwa’s cheeks as he watches Kai trudge to school with the rest of them, a prideful, yet lonely cloud hovering over him. He can’t believe it, and looks on with a happy fascination for a moment before falling into step beside him and subtly leaning into his range of vision to carefully ask,

“To…chan?”

The man stops, visibly bristling at the nickname and stares at him with a mix of mild horror, annoyance, and shock.

“To-chan!” Miwa repeats.”It’s me, Ta-chan!”

It sounds ridiculous, but that was how they were known when they were kids. To-chan and Ta-chan, heroes of the playground, everyone’s friendly older brother figures with the sunniest dispositions around, and wicked skilled at Vanguard (which had been fairly new at the time but quick to rise in popularity. It’s still being widely played, but Miwa hasn’t touched his cards in years). Their parents has been great friends, until…

“…Ta…chan?” Kai asks in frowny incredulity before his face morphs into realization, and then ice cold hostility. “Don’t call me that."

Dull hurt stabs in Miwa’s gut.

Of course. Kai’s changed. He sees it, he hears it, he feels it, he doesn’t know how to go about it.

“Ah…Kai then,” he amends with an apologetic raise of the eyebrows. “It’s been a while."

Kai doesn’t answer, but gives a small not just the same.

 

*･゜ﾟ･*

 

Miwa wants to talk to him during lunch, but they’re surrounded by curious classmates, both those who knew Kai from before and those who didn’t, bombarding them with questions.

“Kai! Where’d you go, man? We missed you!”

“You used to live here? What brings you back?"

“What clubs were you in during middle school?”

“Join the tennis club!”

“Join the tea ceremony club!”

“Hey Kai, weren’t you and Miwa really close before?”

“I’m right here, y’know…"

“Hey Miwa, weren’t you and Kai really close before?”

“Miwa.”

A hush falls over the small, curious crowd as Kai abruptly stands and nods toward a surprised Miwa, who stands as well. They calmly leave the classroom with disappointed, even disapproving muttering in their wake.

“Woah, talk about snobbish."

“I dunno, doesn’t that make him look a bit cool?”

“He used to be so friendly. What happened?”

Miwa feels the need to apologize, and so he does. “Sorry, they’re just…” What was a good word? “…excitable?”

Kai makes a sound suspiciously akin to an amused huff and Miwa finds himself fascinated by it.

“Let’s eat outside,” he says (commands, more like) and Miwa blinks.

“Oh. Sure!”

They make their way toward the grounds in companionable silence, settling on the grassy incline overlooking the football field where a few other students have taken to having their lunch as well.

“Got food?” Kai asks.

“Ah. I usually have bread from the canteen but,” Miwa rubs the back of his neck and turns to the vague direction of the cafeteria and shrugs. “’S Monday. Yakisoba pan’s usually sold out in like, the first ten minutes.” He laughs at the look that crosses Kai’s face. “They’re just _that good_. I’ll get you one one of these days.”

Kai unloads a two tier bento from his bag and hands one to Miwa. He stares.

“Are you serious?” Miwa asks laughingly and gingerly takes the tray.

It’s a feast by high school student standards, something you’d tease someone about their moms or girlfriends making it for them, and being secretly or openly jealous about before proceeding to steal a bite.

Kai starts eating without another word and Miwa looks at his food, wondering what to try first. There’s tamagoyaki, bacon-wrapped asparagus and enoki, a simple, lovely-looking salad made up of artistically rolled ham and the freshest lettuce Miwa’s ever seen, karaage fried to a mouth-wateringly crisp golden brown, and a generous serving of Chinese-style fried rice that smells _so damn good_.

Miwa takes a big bite of the rice and swears richly, loudly, startling Kai and some other students beside them, who shake their heads and return to their conversations.

“What the hell! Did you make this? This is amazing!” Another bite. “Amazing!” A crunch of the karaage. “Hmmph!” The tamagoyaki. “Mmm!” The asparagus, followed by more exclamations of enthusiastic appreciation.

Kai quietly pours cold tea from a thermos and hands it to Miwa, who downs it in one go.

“Khaaah!” he exclaims, rumbly and hearty much like an old man after a satisfying can of beer. “That was delicious!” he says beaming up at Kai. “Reminds me of your mom's cooking...”

There’s a heavy silence and Miwa catches himself.

“Sorry Kai, I—“

“—it’s alright.” Kai’s face is unreadable. “It’s been years.”

Miwa puts down his bento, a soft smile on his face. “Mom’s always been worried about you. You haven’t called at all since you left. She’s gonna be real happy with the news I’ve got how. She’s gonna want to see you.”

“Is she still in the city?"

“Nah, moved back to Hachioji early this year. I told her I wanted to stay here to finish school. She was fine with it and helped me get a studio apartment. She calls me every week.”

“And uncle?”

“Same old, same old. But really, my parents would be thrilled to hear you’re back. How’ve you been, man?” Miwa asks sincerely.

Kai looks away and he gets the feeling he’s not going to be open about whatever’s happened not now, not like he used to be. Miwa finds himself promising to be patient, to listen, to understand.

“Miwa,” Kai speaks after a while.

“Hm?”

“Do you still play Vanguard?”

The question throws him off guard. “What?”

“Cardfight Vanguard. Do you still play it?”

No, he hasn’t in a long time. “W…well, yeah.” But Miwa answers a beat too late and Kai’s taken his pause as a no. Disappointment flickers across his face, a miniscule downturn of the corners of his lips for just a nanosecond, but Miwa feels ridiculously guilty. “Yeah, I do! Why d’you ask?”

“Fight me.”

“Huh?”

He starts packing their lunch away, fitting boxes neatly into his bag. “We’ve got time before lunch ends. Let’s cardfight.”

“My deck’s at home,” In a box. Under a pile of crap from middle school. He’ll have to dig it out.

Miwa flinches as Kai’s brows furrow again, as if to say ‘What decent cardfighter doesn’t keep their deck with them at all times?’ or at least that’s what Miwa thinks Kai is thinking. He’d like to be wrong. He’d like to understand Kai again someday.

“Are there strong cardfighters here?”

“There’s a cardshop by the fami res. The one that used to be the empty lot we played soccer i—hey! Kai? Kai!”

But Kai had already stood and is heading back to the classrooms. Miwa hurriedly falls into step with him, confused more than anything.

“Let’s go there after class, yeah?”

Kai gives no answer and Miwa bites back a sigh.

 

*･゜ﾟ･*

 

“Hang on a minute, can we pass by my house? I’ll grab my deck.” Which hopefully won’t take too long. Or involve a lot of closet digging.

Kai shrugs and the walk towards Miwa’s house is silent, if a little awkward.

“Sorry, it’s messy,” Miwa says, unlocking the door and turning on the lights. “But make yourself at home.” He shoves clean, unfolded clothes on his bed to one side and attempts to clear his kotatsu of yesterday’s homework and this morning’s breakfast, before rummaging through his things. Kai’s in his periphery, standing and looking around in mild interest.

“Ah, found it!” Miwa exclaims, opening a box filled with old notebooks and childhood knickknacks. His card box is in a corner, regaining the faint scent of paper and gel pens it had when it was first opened from disuse and the lack of sunlight.

There’s the sound of running water and clinking plates.

Miwa looks up to see Kai washing his dishes.

“Woah wait—Kai! You don’t have to do that—“

“We’re playing here.” He’s already moving to clear the kotatsu and place the playmat.

“Are you serious? Let me just get tea or…hey!” Kai’s just opened his fridge door and brought out the pitcher of barely tea he always has filled. Miwa just laughs weakly. “You’re really something, you know?”

And they play together for the first time in years.

 

*･゜ﾟ･*

 

There are two smart thunks from the vending machine as a bottle of peach Calpis and aloe tea fall from it. Miwa hands Kai the Calpis and opens his own drink with a crack. He’s lost today’s game (well, won twice as he got his groove back, but the rest of the afternoon was Kai repeatedly handing him his ass on a platter), thus owes him a drink. They’re at the local park and the sky above them bleeds a dark blue, the sun already below the horizon.

“Man, no fair. Since when did you get this good with Kagero?”

“Since I started using it.”

“Cut me some slack! I used to be the one who rocked that clan…”

“You weren’t too bad yourself, considering that was the first time you fought after four years.”

“Aah, I got found out.”

A smile plays on Kai’s lips despite things, and Miwa knows he’s had fun. They share a comfortable silence, Kai taking a long drink of Calpis before turning about as if looking for something.

“Ki-chan should be by the trees behind the water fountain. He’s old and grumpy though. Especially how it’s his fifth litter of kids.”

Kai frowns. “Ki-chan’s a girl?”

Miwa laughs, light and airy, "My thoughts when I first found out," and they go visit the cat.

Ki-chan is fat and grey and grumpy-looking as promised, resembling some sort of wild manul than any other more domesticated breed. Kai squats beside the squinting thing with numerous squirming floofs by her belly. He carefully holds his hand out for her to sniff and her tail rises, quivering but not bristled. She stands, gently leaving her kittens to much feline consternation to rub her face all over Kai’s open palm.

Miwa whistles. “Ki-chan still recognizes you!”

There’s a faint smile on Kai’s face as he picks up the cat, which proceeds to purr and vibrate like an old car engine when Kai scratches behind her ears.

“Takes you back, doesn’t it?” Miwa remarks as they look around the park.

“It’s smaller than I remember,” Kai answers absently.

“You’ve just gotten bigger.” A beat. “Quieter. Less happy…”

Miwa glances at Kai to find him glaring and raises his arms in surrender. “Looks,” he says. “I don’t know what happened to you after you left. But I can see you’re hurting.” He watches Kai’s expression carefully. “And I won’t pry if you don’t want me to. Just…” He offers Kai a weak smile. “Don’t bear this all on your own, yeah?”

Kai doesn’t answer, but he visibly relaxes, expression calm. Ki-chan buries her squashed face in the crook of Kai’s elbow and almost dozes off when Kai speaks again.

“Miwa…”

Not Ta-chan, or Taishi, but somehow Miwa likes the sound. The way Kai says it softly, angrily, casually, always with a gentle lilt he finds more intimate than his first name.

“I want to be stronger.”

Miwa looks up at Kai. The other man’s gaze is far away.

“Yeah,” he says, idly shaking his empty bottle of tea. “Yeah, I can help with that.”

 

*･゜ﾟ･*

 

Over the next several weeks, Miwa finds himself watching Kai very closely—his actions, his facial expressions, the people he talks to (aside from Miwa himself, which aren’t a lot), the things he tells these people (which aren’t much either), words he falls silent to, and the body language he exudes thereafter.

There are days he finds it ridiculously easy to read Kai like an open book, the quirk and furrow of his eyebrows, the hunch of his shoulders in dislike of something, how they slack when he’s relaxed, the difference between his neutral expression and the so-called default grumpy everyone keeps mistaking it for. How he stares at things he likes, and exudes a poorly concealed aura of longing much like a reserved five-year old, or a large, princess cat.

Other days, or most days, Kai is a flurry of mystery, especially with his tendency to drop everything and just leave once a thought spurs him into action without so much as an explanation to Miwa’s distress and confusion. He goes along for the ride nonetheless, and doesn’t think too much about what Kai does or what things mean. He’s found that the answers eventually fall neatly into place, and he enjoys it more that way. A spontaneous, learning curve; steep as he likes it.

And probably because Miwa doesn’t expect anything, he gets pleasantly surprised by the smallest things, such as how he’s come to spend every lunch hour with Kai, relearning him in small, steady increments and short conversations (or long ones if Miwa enthusiastically monologuing can be called a conversation), and finding out, after all these years, how Kai hasn’t changed.

Still thoughtful, still patient, still kind (in a lonely, self-sacrificing kind of way that drives Miwa up the wall sometimes), still expressive, but in other ways, like Vanguard. Miwa learns Kai best through Vanguard.

His plays are sure, steady, and confident, like an essential force that delivers and overwhelms, strong, and elegant. But sometimes Kai’s plays feel aimless, a tad frustrated, even a little lost, like he isn’t sure where he's headed but it's definitely not wherever he came from.

Miwa hadn’t known what was missing until they meet Sendou Aichi.

And Miwa sees, how the man he calls his best friend smiles in genuine, unbridled joy of a cardfight like he hasn’t had a good one in years.

He sees how Aichi looks at Kai as well.

And Miwa knows. Whatever Kai needs, Aichi can fill.

And Miwa’s going to help Aichi do just that.

**→**


	2. 考えておく

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 考えておく: "I'll think about it."

“That was surprising,” Miwa remarks as they light sparklers along the beach.

They’re on an impromptu training camp with Team Caesar, but it was more of a good old summer vacation with friends more than anything, complete with outdoor group-effort cooking and fireworks. All they need is a Test of Courage, which Kamui insists happen next year when they get together again. It’s been a while since they’ve had a different kind of fun.

Kai glances at Miwa questioningly but is otherwise preoccupied with watching the sparkler light flicker and fade.

“Didn’t know you were good at cooking…”

Kai frowns loudly like his pride’s been hurt. Miwa hasn’t seen that expression before and it confuses him for a moment before something clicks in place.

“No way…” he whispers with a disbelief that morphs into a grin. Kai heaves an uncharacteristically heavy sigh and smacks his face into his free hand. “You…you like cooking?”

“Well, yes. I thought you knew. Who do you think prepares my bento? I live alone, you know.”

“Yeah I know that but…aw man,” Miwa laughs. “I thought you just had a flare for good eats and bought your food all the time.”

Kai sulks spectacularly. “Now I feel insulted.”

Miwa thinks he’s crossed a line for a moment and cautiously leans into his space before jumping back when Kai waves a sparkler in his face with the smallest, tiniest of pouts.

“Hey! Don’t get mad!” he says in good humor. “I mean, that’s incredible! Now that I know it’s you, you like, make insanely good chahan. And the curry! Man, you gotta teach me what you did because it tastes exactly like curry from—“

“Miwa.” A warning.

He pauses to look at Kai…then balks.

Kai keeps glaring at him, truly put out this time.

“Part time?” Miwa asks carefully and Kai nods.

“Pays the bills and daily expenses. I didn’t want to burden uncle since they already pay for the rent.”

Miwa whistles, impressed, and settles down next to Kai once more. “I won’t tell anyone—“

Kai relaxes.

“—but in exchange—“

...then tenses up.

“—invite me to your place sometime and give me cooking tips.”

“No.”

“Don’t blame me if I suddenly show up at K-Tei ordering a katsu curry.”

Kai bristles like a cat. “You wouldn’t—“

“Then let me hang out at your hooome!”

"No!"

"Tch. Stingy."

“Idiot."

Thus marks the first of several similar exchanges, Miwa expressing the want to go to Kai’s home and Kai brushing it off with half-baked tutting or just plain ignorance. He seems more determined to show off his culinary prowess however, by giving advice after Miwa makes a few cooking ventures of his own.

“The tamagoyaki’s great,” Kai says, genuinely impressed one lunch period they exchanged meals for tasting.

Miwa swells with pride. “I’m not gonna lie, I’m great with eggs!”

Kai rolls his eyes but continues eating. “You don’t need to thaw the peas and carrots before adding it to the rice. They’re fresher that way. And make sure you keep tossing the rice after you’ve added the egg so that it doesn’t burn and stick to the pan.”

“Any suggestions for the sauce? I only use soy sauce.”

“Try hoisin.”

“Right-o!”

Not only about cooking, but Kai starts giving advice on Vanguard as well, much to the pleasant surprise of his team mates (and the even bigger surprise of prideful Kamui taking it). The training camp did them well, providing good growing and bonding experience, as Nitta quietly tells Miwa as he watches the cashier while Misaki plays a game or three.

Miwa is inclined to agree, noticing how Kai smiles so much more now, especially when he’s watching Aichi fight or listening to him talk about cards and school, like he can never be more proud of the boy. Miwa can’t help but be proud as well.

(Roughly a year later, Misaki will discreetly nudge his elbow and remark “I’ve never seen Kai smile before. He’s changed.”

And Miwa will look at the man who tirelessly searches for ways to bring Aichi’s existence back and will shrug.

“I guess he’s changed, but not really? He’s often smiled like that even from before, you know.”)

“Shop tournament’s next week,” Nitta says brightly. Sub-manager gives a meow from Miwa’s lap. “Give them a push?”

Miwa watches Aichi, brow furrowed in concentration at the game he’s playing, and then Kai, face graced with a soft, contented look that nobody else seems to notice. Nobody but Miwa.

“I’ll think about it.”

But before that, they celebrate Kamui’s birthday.

**→**


End file.
